May, 2018

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So, You Inherited a Failing Project…Here’s What to Do Next

LiquidPlanner

Dear Elizabeth: I’ve inherited a sinking ship of a project. I didn’t know things were so bad when I took it on, and now it looks like I have a turnaround situation on my hands. No one seems to know what we need to do, the schedule is totally unrealistic, the client is unhappy, and team morale has plummeted, even since I got involved. It feels like we’re in freefall!

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What Makes a Brilliant Project Leader?

Rebel’s Guide to PM

Mike Clayton. What makes a brilliant project leader? I spoke to Dr. Mike Clayton, author of Brilliant Project Leader, , and the brains behind OnlinePMCourses.com. We talked about the key skills and talents of people who make excellent project leaders. This is what he had to say. Mike, let’s get straight to it. What makes a brilliant project leader? There are so many things that contribute to a brilliant project leader, so let me focus on three things.

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Cure Your Zombie PMO

Planview

Breaking news update: as I previously reported in the blog, “ Symptoms of the Zombie PMO ,” zombification is still proliferating in businesses throughout the world. However, the spread is thankfully slowing down, as people are becoming more aware and educated of the symptoms, and thus taking action sooner. In this updated report, I will expound upon the cures discussed by experts in the on-demand webinar, “ Avoiding the Pitfalls of a Zombie PMO.”.

PMO 109
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Scheduling Team Members According to Agile Practices

Eylean

Team member management and scheduling is one of the key components in project manager’s responsibilities. It is according to these efforts that your project faith relies in most cases. And finding the right balance between tight deadlines, most effective distribution and humanity can sometimes become quite a challenge. However, there are managers and practices out … The post Scheduling Team Members According to Agile Practices appeared first on Eylean Blog.

Agile 66
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Understand Digital Debt, Form a Team, Set Goals, and Plan Roadmap for Transformation

Understanding digital debt is crucial before digital transformation. Assemble a team to assess internal operations, market pressures, and digital debt's impact. Define future digital vision with measurable goals. Refine hypotheses and conduct market analysis. Develop a roadmap for transformation with defined projects, cost estimates, and governance.

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4 Trends That Will Transform Project Management

LiquidPlanner

In the world of project management, change is constant. From technology improvements to shifts in how teams collaborate and work together both in-house and around the world, it can sometimes feel overwhelming to keep up with the rapid pace of flux. So what are some of the biggest changes in the world of project management, and what do you need to keep an eye out for in the coming months?

More Trending

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Fixed price contracting and Agile

Musings on Project Management

In my book, Project Management the Agile Way, now in its 2nd Edition, I make this statement in the chapter on contracts: Firm Fixed Price (FFP) completion contracts are inappropriate for contracting agile. I got an email from a reader challenging that assertion, to which responded: I always start by asserting that agile is a "fixed price" methodology.

Agile 150
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6 Easy Ways to Manage Group Think and Risk at Work

Rebel’s Guide to PM

This is a guest article by Dr Mike Clayton , the brains behind Online PM Courses.com. It’s an edited extract from his book Risk Happens ! Dr Mike Clayton. In the 1970s, the social psychologist Irving Janis examined how groups make decisions. He found that a group’s dynamic often inhibits exploration of alternatives. People find disagreement uncomfortable, so the group seeks consensus before it has reached a satisfactory conclusion.

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How to Actually Develop a Project Management Plan

Project Risk Coach

Featuring baselines, subsidiary plans, and other ancillary plans Do you know the 5Ps? Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance. If this is true, why is it that some project managers put so little time in developing a project management plan? One of the reasons is that project managers may not know what to include. I’ve developed this checklist to help you develop your project management plan including baselines, subsidiary plans, and ancillary plans.

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Why You Need to Become Business Agile

The Lazy Project Manager

[link]. In the first of this 3-part webinar series, we will explore ways to not only significantly reduce change failures but also how to dramatically raise the capability, speed, and success rates of delivering strategic change in any organization through the adoption of a ‘business agile’ change structure. Join our webinar to learn: Evolution and Stasis of Project Management: Challenges and Failures.

Agile 241
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Strategic Finance Essentials: A Project Manager’s Guide to Financial Impact

Speaker: Ketan Jahagirdar - Sopheon’s Director of Product Management

Empower yourself as a project manager with insights that directly influence the financial landscape and strategic direction of your organization! Join us for a deep dive into the world of financial strategy, as we dissect key metrics that drive CFOs and business leaders’ investment decisions.This session will equip you with the necessary tools to craft compelling business cases as well as a comprehensive understanding of the crucial distinction between capital expenditure and operational expendi

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RACI Made Simple. How To Create A Responsibility Assignment Matrix That Actually Works

The Digital Project Manager

You hear the term RACI, and inwardly groan. Far from the slightly exciting sounding acronym, The post RACI Made Simple. How To Create A Responsibility Assignment Matrix That Actually Works appeared first on The Digital Project Manager.

Planning 317
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Project Quality Management – A Quick Guide

ProjectManager.com

When you’re managing a project, the Triple Constraint is always foremost in your head. How can you control the scope, schedule and cost of the project? But there is a fourth concern that is just as important and is sometimes forgotten in the maelstrom of project management, and that is quality. It doesn’t matter if you got the best project management tools , met every milestone and completed the project under budget if the deliverable didn’t meet quality standards.

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Timing is everything for your team!

Kiron Bondale

Those of us who have managed projects with team members dispersed across distant time zones are well aware of the risks caused by geographic, cultural and temporal distance. The benefits of thoughtful co-location for right-sized teams are also well recognized, but even in such ideal situations, we face a different challenge which Daniel Pink covers in his latest book, When.

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An Introduction to Project Steering Groups

Rebel’s Guide to PM

A Project Steering Group is the oversight committee of a project. You might use the term Project Board or Governance Committee, or something else that means a similar thing. All projects should have one, but the make up of the group depends on your project. It’s generally acknowledged that having strong leadership is important for project success, so getting your Project Steering Group set up as soon as you can is a good start.

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20 Common Mistakes Made by Inexperienced Project Managers

You’ve read the PMBOK® Guide several times, taken the certification exam for project managers, passed, and you are now a PMP®. So why do you keep making rookie mistakes? This whitepaper shows 20 of the most common mistakes that young or inexperienced project managers make, issues that can cost significant time and money. It's a good starting point for understanding how and why many PMs get themsleves into trouble, and provides guidance on the types of issues that PMs need to understand.

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5 Ways to Instantly Build Rapport for Increased Trust and Improved Relationships

Project Bliss

The ability to build rapport with others is often seen as a mysterious skill to those who don’t have it. Many people have a hard time connecting with and building relationships easily with others. They’re often frustrated that communication isn’t as easy as they’d like it to be. The ability to build rapport can seem elusive for many. It seems that only those with certain charisma or charm can do it.

Lean 197
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Do you use a project management checklist?

Ron Rosenhead

In October 1931, the U.S. Army Air Corps held a flight competition for airplane manufacturers vying to build the army’s next-generation long-range bomber. The overwhelming favourite was the Boeing Model 299, which was dubbed “the flying fortress.”. But disaster struck; the plane crashed, killing two members of the flight crew, including the pilot, Major P.

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9 Simple Ways to Quickly Start a Project

Project Risk Coach

I wish I had a dime for every time that I have been handed a project with a deadline of yesterday. You've been there too? Well, let's talk about some practical steps that we can take to quickly start a project. Jumpstarting a new project requires time and focus. Clear your calendar as much as possible. Secure a project administrator to help you with your administrative tasks.

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The Perfect New Hire Checklist – Use this Free Template

ProjectManager.com

The long, arduous hiring process is finally over. You’ve whittled down the many qualified candidates to that one individual who checks all the boxes on your list. They’re going to be a great addition to the team. So, now you can get back to business as usually, right? Wrong. According to the Society for Human Resource Management, between 16-17% of new hires leave their position between the first week and the third month of starting their job.

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The Big Payoff of Application Analytics

Outdated or absent analytics won’t cut it in today’s data-driven applications – not for your end users, your development team, or your business. That’s what drove the five companies in this e-book to change their approach to analytics. Download this e-book to learn about the unique problems each company faced and how they achieved huge returns beyond expectation by embedding analytics into applications.

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Gantt charts still have a place in the agile-verse!

Kiron Bondale

Those of you who have followed me for a while will know that I value pragmatism over absolutism when it comes to delivery practices, tools and techniques. Pick the right tool for the right job should be a guiding principle followed by all project teams. Easier said than done! It is difficult when enterprise standards dictate a fixed tool set, but it is even more challenging when a company is undergoing a fundamental transformation of its delivery practices.

Agile 168
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Get Your Projects Started With OnlinePMcourses Fast Start Program

Rebel’s Guide to PM

Get 30% off the Fast Start Program project management training, and accelerate your way to project management success! I’m delighted to be partnering with project management trainer extraordinaire Dr Mike Clayton from OnlinePMcourses to bring you a special offer on his Fast Start Program. Designed for managers or professionals who want to feel confident taking on a small or mid-sized project, it gives you everything you need to get your project off to the best start.

2018 159
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Some "$10 words" in Risk Management

Musings on Project Management

When you get into risk management a bit, there are some biggies that get thrown around -- I call them $10 words -- and there are two that more or less divide risk management along the lines of. The unknown that is possibly knowable with some legwork The unknown that is likely to remain unknowable First case For the first case, this is all about knowledge, the nature of knowledge, and how.

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OFFICIAL! Project sponsorship has been declared null and void.

Ron Rosenhead

At a meeting of the International Project Management Convocation (IProMco) this month, the Board ruled there was no need for projects to have a project sponsor. The Board suggested that as the role was not being played out fully by project sponsors then it was ‘unnecessary.’ In addition, the amount of project sponsorship training has fallen dramatically over the last 24 months.

2018 178
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How to Stay Competitive in the Evolving State of Martech

Marketing technology is essential for B2B marketers to stay competitive in a rapidly changing digital landscape — and with 53% of marketers experiencing legacy technology issues and limitations, they’re researching innovations to expand and refine their technology stacks. To help practitioners keep up with the rapidly evolving martech landscape, this special report will discuss: How practitioners are integrating technologies and systems to encourage information-sharing between departments and pr

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10 Ways to Keep Your Project Stakeholders Happy

Project Risk Coach

Every project has stakeholders—individuals, groups, and organizations that may be impacted by the project or may impact the project in a negative or positive manner. Your stakeholders have different views. Some are resistant. Some are neutral. Others are supportive or leading. Do you have a stakeholder engagement plan ? Have you stopped to think about the diverse needs of your stakeholders?

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Project Manager Interview: Dmitriy Nizhebetskiy

Project Bliss

Dmitriy Nizhebetskiy owns PMBasics101.com where he writes about Project Management. Gallatin, TN is the nicest place in America! Who knew? When he told me he was traveling from Kiev, Ukraine to Nashville, Tennessee, I headed over from Memphis. I didn’t want to miss the chance to meet face-to-face and discuss the joys and challenges of IT project management.

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Does your PMO hinder or help your agile transformation?

Kiron Bondale

An agile project management office might sound to some like an oxymoron, right? This might be a reasonable assertion as many PMOs were first formed to provide oversight over a portfolio of projects and enforcing standards sounds like the antithesis to agility. But many successful PMOs have evolved beyond governance and control to helping their company reach higher levels of organizational project management maturity, and increasing agility should be complementary and not contradictory to this pu

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Illusions

Zen Project Management

I am still reading Daniel Kahneman's Thinking, Fast and Slow , and I came across an interesting quote People can maintain an unshakable faith in any proposition, however absurd, when they are sustained by a community of like-minded believers. He used the example of stock traders, who think they are successful in picking stocks even though evidence points otherwise.

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From Complexity to Clarity: Strategies for Effective Compliance and Security Measures

Speaker: Erika R. Bales, Esq.

When we talk about “compliance and security," most companies want to ensure that steps are being taken to protect what they value most – people, data, real or personal property, intellectual property, digital assets, or any other number of other things - and it’s more important than ever that safeguards are in place. Let’s step back and focus on the idea that no matter how complicated the compliance and security regime, it should be able to be distilled down to a checklist.